Sullivan v. Pound, 634 S.W.3d 318 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 2021, no pet. h.).
The plaintiff filed suit against a decedent’s estate. The appellate court recognized that the estate of a decedent is not a legal entity and thus cannot be sued. However, the trial court had jurisdiction because the personal representative was served with citation and participated in the suit in his capacity as the estate’s personal representative.
Moral: A personal representative should avoid participating in a lawsuit if the suit is merely against the estate. Participating in the action will waive the claim that the court lacked jurisdiction because the plaintiff sued the estate rather than the personal representative.